Abstract: Cooperation is an important factor in any network that attempts to serve a larger purpose. With suitably defined metrics, the framework of subset team games allows one to discuss the competitive and altruistic value of individual contributions to the network. These contributions can be jointly visualized as points in "cooperation space", which then becomes a new analytical tool for studying individual nodes or subsets of nodes.

Several concrete examples will illustrate how the technique can be applied to specific networks, and will highlight the significant interplay between network node measures (such as centrality) and network altruism. We will also discuss why altruism is a key factor in network effectiveness, and the impact of these ideas on network degradation and disruption.